Archive for 2008
love thursday: luvin teh lolcatz
There was a time when these captioned kitties weren’t in my favor, but they’ve certainly grown on me. Yes, much like mold.
A loving h/t to Judith of Think On It! for directing me to some Luv Turzday lolcatz:
Also?
I highly recommend reading about The Semiotics of LOLcats at Paul’s The Clue-by-Four.
I more than loved it. I Love Thursday’ed it.
Happy Love Thursday!
*Remember you can still enter to win a copy of The Feast of the Seven Fishes!
Christmas Cookie Recipe: Peanut Butter Cookies
Mom always makes Peanut Butter Blossoms, peanut butter cookies with a Hershey’s Kiss nestled in the center, but the recipe works just as well even if you’re without kisses of the chocolate persuasion.
Read on...Feast of the Seven Fishes: Italian-American Christmas Eve Tradition
Read more about The Feast of the Seven Fishes, the traditional Italian-American Christmas Eve meal that features seven different types of fish.
Read on...why i love il farmacista in italy
Pharmacies in Italy run very differently from those in the United States.
I bring this up now because on Friday I finally broke down and went to la farmacia (farm-uh-CHEE-ah) after feeling not-so-good for a few weeks.
It started with a virus, but then every few days I’d get abdominal pains and was just generally rundown.
Why not go straight to the doctor?
I hate going to the doctor, and I know I’m not alone in that. The biggest part of the annoyance for me is having to wait around with a bunch of sickies who may be sicker than I am and/or with different problems, and possibly catching what they have on top of whatever I have.
But Italy lets me avoid that ever so slightly because here the logical first stop is il farmacista, the pharmacist, who can also diagnose your symptoms and give you medications that require prescriptions–and you only pay for the meds, not the advice.
My pharmacist is here every day but Sunday (he’s even here some Sundays as pharmacies are required by law to rotate so that one is open every Sunday in a given area), so it’s also rather convenient as he’s just a few steps down the Corso.
Once I’m there, I describe my symptoms, and he lets me know if I should go to the doctor or hospital or if he can provide something to help along the healing process.
Best of all, I live in a village of about 350 people. I’ve had to wait in a line (of one person ahead of me) precisely one time in five years.
Read: no shouting your symptoms across the desk in a room full of people. So that’s nice too.
Now, granted, something *very* annoying about the pharmacy system in Italy is that you have to *ask* the pharmacist for just about everything medical you can imagine–think vitamins, regular strength painkillers, cold medicine, yeast infection meds (ladies, I know you hear me on this). I’m spoiled as my mom sends me these things, but that’s more because many of these things are also ridiculously expensive here.
Anyway, I am happy to report that since my pharmacist gave me meds on Friday, I have felt so amazingly better that I have resolved to stop complaining about having no drugstore where I can buy everything over-the-counter, without describing of symptoms or asking anyone for help in the unlocking of cabinets that hold controversial items like tampons, lipstick, and shampoo.*
And that is why I love il farmacista in Italy.
Today anyway.
*For the record, we can buy tampons, lipstick, and shampoo in places other than pharmacies, thank goodness.
Have you dealt with il farmacista?
What say you?
My Christmas Articles Elsewhere
When freelance writers get the Christmas spirit, you get links to Christmas articles! All by me, but hey, they’re free!
I can’t believe we’re already a week into December, although maybe I can a little as I’ve been writing about Christmas for a couple weeks now.
So just in case you’re not quite feeling the holiday spirit, or if you are and just *love* to feed that addiction, here are some of my recent holiday-themed articles:
- Christmas Presepi Markets in Naples at Italy Magazine: “The presepi, or Nativity scenes, of Naples are probably the most famous in the world, and the markets along Via San Gregorio Armeno give us the opportunity to build our own from the straw up.”
- 5 Christmas Traditions Around the World at BootsnAll Travel: “If you’re tired of the same old food, weather, and, ahem, people this holiday season, now may be the time for you to experience Christmas traditions from around the world.” Virtual trips to Australia, Italy, Austria, Brazil, and New York City are included free of charge.
- Immaculate Conception: Start of the Holiday Season in Italy at Italy Magazine: “Although in other countries, you might begin to hear Christmas carols at the end of November, in Italy, holiday celebrations begin on 8 December with the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary or L’Immacolata Concezione della Beata Vergine Maria.”
So…are you in the holiday spirit yet?
Michelle Kaminsky is an American attorney-turned-freelance writer who lived in her family's ancestral village in Calabria, Italy for 15 years. This blog is now archived.
Calabria Guidebook
Recipes
